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1 of 4The level of attentiveness Porsche paid to designing the 981 is what propels it to the top of our must-have-roadsters list.

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2 of 4As with its predecessor, the base Boxster won't overwhelm you with power. Even the Boxster S, while it pulls from a standstill straight up to triple digits without letting up, feels as if it wants—could handle—oh, so much more.

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3 of 4But sitting in the wonderful sport-oriented seats—still among our favorites in all cardom—some of the changes betray one shortcoming.

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4 of 4The lines, the midship proportions and the softly undulating curves all lay claim to undeniable Boxsterness.

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The tantalizing dynamics remain—the steering wheel well weighted yet dancing under the fingertips, the chassis singing with every flick of the wrist, the engine sussurrating at idle and burbling in rich tones with the lightest stab of the gas pedal.

Yes, everything we've reveled in for more than 15 years continues to define the third-generation Porsche Boxster, also known as the 981. But with two revised engines, lighter construction and a redesigned soft top, it's a bit more revelatory, too.

The lines, the midship proportions and the softly undulating curves all lay claim to undeniable Boxsterness. But a more thoughtful look will call out the changes: the more pronounced swells over the wheels, the stacked headlamps, the fixed roll hoops and a sharp rear-end design highlighted by an integrated spoiler that runs straight through the taillights.

What the eye suspects more than detects are the shifts in the car's dimensions. The length grows by only 1.1 inches, but Porsche pushed the wheels further to the corners, stretching the wheelbase 2.4 inches. The car's width is unchanged, but the front track grows by 1.6 inches, to 60.1 inches. The rear track widens by 0.7 inch, to 60.4 inches. If the Boxster looks like it's faster, credit a half-inch-lower height and a more steeply raked windscreen, the bottom edge of which is pushed forward almost four inches more than before.

Inside, the Boxster sees its most dramatic transformation, with much of the richness of the 911 carrying over to the roadster. The left brain of the Boxster lies in the quality of the materials, the logical layout, the ease of reach to all of the controls and the prioritization of displays—the tach remains dead center on the instrument panel—and nicely complements the right-brain level of stylishness the car has never before boasted.

But sitting in the wonderful sport-oriented seats—still among our favorites in all cardom—some of the changes betray one shortcoming. Top up, rearward visibility is nearly erased by the combination of those roll hoops and a higher rear deck.

Both engines, in essence, carry over, the smaller not without some noteworthy revisions. The base Boxster engine loses a few cubic centimeters, shrinking from 2.9 liters to 2.7, but thanks to the addition of direct fuel injection, the boxer-six turns out more power than its larger predecessor, with 265 hp on tap at 6,700 rpm. Torque is down slightly, to 206 lb-ft, but you won't notice. All of those pound-feet are now available across a larger swept area of the tach, stretching from 4,500 rpm to 6,500 rpm. The 2.9-liter, by comparison, turned out 255 hp at 6,400 rpm and 214 lb-ft between 4,400 rpm and 6,000 rpm.

The 3.4-liter remains largely unchanged in the Boxster S, with just a 5-hp uptick in output, to 315 hp, the result in large part of a new dual-runner intake. But while power peaks a bit higher in the rev range, as with the base engine, the torque band feels meaty and evenly distributed across a wider slice of the big center gauge.

Either engine can be fitted with one of a pair of familiar gearboxes, the standard six-speed manual or an optional seven-speed dual-clutch lifted from the 911 that Porsche calls PDK. Both transmissions are a delight to operate, the PDK boasting quicker, smoother shifts than ever, but it's the auto stop/start feature, standard on either tranny, that you'll notice first. At every stop, the engine immediately shuts off, restarting the moment you lift off the brake. It worked flawlessly during our test drives of both the Boxster and the Boxster S, although truth be told, we tended to keep the cars running in sport mode, which not only shifts to a more aggressive throttle map but overrides stop/start and prevents the car from shutting off at idle.

PDK adds a trick coasting feature that automatically drops engine revs to idle levels when you ease completely off the throttle. On long downhill grades, for example, the engine will stay in coasting mode until you step back on the gas or shift. Porsche says this feature, combined with stop/start, helps PDK-equipped Boxsters achieve an equivalent of 30.5 mpg on the Euro cycle, with the Boxster S coming in at 29.4 mpg. Manual cars fare a little worse, at 28.7 mpg and 26.7 mpg. Still, across the board, the Boxster lineup will see a roughly 15 percent improvement in fuel economy.

Lest anyone fear that Porsche has rearranged its priorities, know that both the Boxster and the Boxster S attack the switchbacks as confidently as ever, the longer, wider stance imbuing the car with greater confidence. Both cars feel surefooted, even tackling complex combinations of turns, holding a flatter aspect when hustled enthusiastically. The front end bites firmly and turns in eagerly; the rest of the car follows promptly. And grip is never-ending. Credit goes in part to the bigger tires, 18-inch rubber standard on the Boxster and 19s on the S (20-inch wheels and tires are available on both). But in PDK models with the Sport Chrono package, magnetorheological transmission mounts work against the car's roll moment, allowing the car to run that much flatter through the turns.

Also new is a speed-sensitive electromechanical steering system that feels every bit as lively as the previous car's hydraulic setup. We didn't share the complaints from early drivers of the 991 about that car's generally numb feel. In the Boxster, the system works well, with quick response and nice, appropriate weight at all speeds.

As with its predecessor, the base Boxster won't overwhelm you with power. Even the Boxster S, while it pulls from a standstill straight up to triple digits without letting up, feels as if it wants—could handle—oh, so much more. Nevertheless, Porsche claims a PDK-equipped Boxster with the Sport Chrono package will shoot to 62 mph from a stop in 5.2 seconds, the corresponding S model managing it in just 4.5 seconds. Helping out is a curb weight slashed by up to 77 pounds in the Boxster S and up to 55 pounds in the base Boxster.

Both models truly excel in their combination of track-happy attitude and easy around-town bearing. The Boxster lopes about town as comfortably as it plays race car on swift two-lanes. And in either case, the new folding soft top keeps more noise out than before, significantly more at 62 mph, at which point peak decibels hit 71 dB compared with 75 in the previous model. The power operation is slicker, too, fully automated now—a simple press of the rocker switch, and the magnesium-framed top will open or close in just nine seconds and at speeds up to 31 mph.

The attention to detail paid to all aspects of the 981 extends to the open top, which does without a separate tonneau cover. The top accordions into a neatly finished stack, as polished as the 911 cabriolet's.

The level of attentiveness Porsche paid to designing the 981 is what propels it to the top of our must-have-roadsters list. That and an exhaust note so addictive that you'll never care to turn on the stereo. Dare we say it's also almost enough for us to forget about the 911.

Almost but not quite.

Natalie Neff
- Road test editor Natalie Neff has been with Autoweek for 11 years and oversees all new-car reviews and testing. She has tested cars across glaciers in Iceland and through the jungles of Belize.
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